Written Answers Tuesday 22 July 2008

Scottish Executive

Ambulance Service

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive on how many occasions the Scottish Ambulance Service has needed to call on the services of the St John Ambulance Service or the Red Cross in the last five years.

Shona Robison: The Scottish Ambulance Service has advised that this information is not recorded. However, the Scottish Ambulance Service has a Memorandum of Understanding with the British Red Cross which sets out a framework for responding to major incidents and major public events.

  In addition, the British Red Cross supports the Scottish Ambulance Service in the provision of patient transport and as part of Community First Responder schemes. In respect of the latter role, all first responders have received training and have qualified as "First Persons on Scene".

  The Scottish Ambulance Service does not call upon the services of the St John Ambulance Service.

Blood Donors

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of reducing numbers of blood donors, what steps it has taken, or is taking, to ensure that NHS boards are encouraged to maximise autologous cell salvage use of blood and what audit arrangements are in place to ensure that the use of such cell salvage blood is maximised.

Shona Robison: The optimal use of donated blood involves a balanced approach between carrying out only necessary transfusions and implementing blood use avoidance strategies. The Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) has invested in a wide range of optimal blood use strategies, co-ordinated within the Better Blood Transfusion Programme (BBTP), to encourage delivery within and by NHS boards.

  The Scottish Clinical Transfusion Advisory Committee has considered cell salvage in some detail at meetings over the last 18 months. While acknowledging that perioperative cell salvage is an important part of the Better Blood Transfusion initiatives, it is likely to be applicable to a minority of blood recipients.

  SNBTS actively supports and encourages the use of intra-operative cell salvage (IOCS) and provides £113,000 (recurring) funding for this purpose. Part of this allocation provides funding for a specialist practitioner in operating theatre blood conservation at NHS Lothian, who takes the national lead in Scotland on intra-operative blood matters. Over the past four years, several NHS boards have also used BBTP funds to purchase IOCS equipment.

  The UK Cell Salvage Action Group, which SNBTS is actively involved with, is in the process of establishing a national audit database for IOCS.

Culture

Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the results of the parliamentary vote on the Creative Scotland Bill on 18 June 2008 ( Official Report , c. 9912) whether it will consult the Parliament before concluding its deliberations on the way forward for the arts in Scotland.

Linda Fabiani: The Scottish Government remains committed to the establishment of Creative Scotland. In this context, I welcome the support of the Parliament for the principles of the Creative Scotland Bill. The government regrets, however, that the Parliament voted against the financial resolution relevant to the bill, causing the bill to fall. The government remains committed to introducing a bill to establish Creative Scotland, and will consult with the Parliament as appropriate as these plans develop.

Culture

Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive which organisation it considers should provide support to the creative industries.

Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what it envisages as the future role for the creative industries’ offices.

Linda Fabiani: As I said in my statement to the Parliament on 18 June, public bodies will work in partnership to support the creative industries. That creative partnership will be represented in a creative industries forum.

  The forum will act as a catalyst, bringing together the public bodies involved in supporting the creative industries to make sure that services are effectively co-ordinated and to share intelligence in a way that will stimulate innovation. Its first task will be to develop a route map for creative entrepreneurs that shows how to best access those services, ensuring that these services are fit for purpose.

  Creative Scotland will continue to evolve complementary specialist advice and information services for creative enterprises.

Culture

Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the budget will be for Creative Scotland.

Linda Fabiani: Creative Scotland will inherit the combined grant-in-aid of the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen. Their combined grant-in-aid in the present financial year amounts to £50.32 million. In 2009-10 and 2010-11 I will also provide £2.5 million per annum as per my announcement on 18 June of a Creative Scotland Innovation Fund.

Employment

Mike Rumbles (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has held with (a) Vion and (b) the Grampian Country Food Group regarding Vion’s takeover of the group and when these discussions were held.

Richard Lochhead: The First Minister met Mr Peter Barr, Chairman of Vion UK, and Daan van Doorn, Vion’s Chief Executive Officer, on 3 July 2008 to discuss a range of issues relating to Vion’s takeover of the Grampian Country Food Group.

Employment

Mike Rumbles (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to protect the jobs of those working in Scotland’s meat industry following Vion’s takeover of the Grampian Country Food Group.

Richard Lochhead: The First Minister met with Peter Barr, Chairman of Vion UK, and Daan van Doorn, Vion’s Chief Executive Officer, on 3 July 2008 and discussed a range of actions on which to build a constructive relationship going forward.

Fisheries

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions Scottish ministers have had with the European Commission regarding the continuation of minimum import price arrangements that have protected Scottish salmon farming from the cheap importation of Norwegian farmed salmon.

Richard Lochhead: Scottish ministers, notably the First Minister and the Minister for Environment, have remained in close contact with the European Commission to support the need for the minimum import price, to provide evidence that there is a likelihood of a recurrence of dumping and to argue strongly against the Commission’s findings.

  The Minister for Environment currently has an on-going dialogue regarding the special monitoring proposal.

Fisheries

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how many real-time closures of cod fishing grounds took place from October 2007 to June 2008; for how many days each such closure was in operation; how many Scottish fishing boats were affected, and which fishing grounds were the subject of such closures.

Richard Lochhead: To date a total of 14 Real-Time Area Closures have taken place, with each closure valid for a period of 21 days. It is difficult to predict how many vessels would have intended fishing in an area that was subsequently closed, though the closed areas, in total size, were relatively small, therefore minimising the effect on fishing vessels’ alternative fishing opportunities. Of the 14 closures, nine applied in ICES Sub-Area IVa (North Sea) and five applied in ICES Sub-Area Via (West of Scotland).

Health

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in light of the withdrawal from Scotland of two of the three suppliers of portable oxygen and the difficulties experienced across Scotland in obtaining adequate supplies of lightweight, higher capacity oxygen cylinders with integrated regulators, what plans it has to review the Scottish procurement and pharmacy-based system which is completely different from other NHS regions in the United Kingdom.

Shona Robison: I am currently considering the evidence gathered at this stage of the domiciliary oxygen therapy service (DOTS) review and am not yet in a position to announce decisions on the future shape of the Service. The review has been broad-ranging and has assessed a number of important issues.

Health

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what guarantees have been obtained from the British Oxygen Company (BOC) with respect to the restoration of supply of lightweight modern portable oxygen cylinders with integrated regulators.

Shona Robison: BOC supplies oxygen to NHS community pharmacies in Scotland. Manufacturing problems at the French company which supplies BOC have been the cause of a temporary shortage of portable cylinders across the UK. This shortage has affected supplies of the Drug Tariff-listed DD cylinders available to community pharmacies across Scotland, and PD cylinders which require separate headsets have been issued to some patients over the past few months.

  We have been assured by BOC that the supply problems which led to this situation are easing. PD cylinders will be withdrawn as more of the integrated headset DD cylinders come on stream.

Health

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what provision it has made to support access to treatment for patients with ultra-orphan disease.

Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-13894 on 16 June 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Health

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance exists to help NHS boards identify ultra-orphan disease and provide adequate and effective care for patients who have been diagnosed with such disease.

Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-13896 on 16 June 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Health

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are some very rare diseases where risk sharing in the provision of drug treatment could benefit from a UK-wide scheme and whether it has considered or will consider initiating discussions to this end.

Nicola Sturgeon: Arrangements are in place in Scotland to allow financial risk sharing for the provision of drug treatment for very rare diseases. There are no plans to introduce a UK-wide scheme.

Health

Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how it ensures that National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidance is reflected in the (a) advice given by NHS 24 and (b) content of NHS 24 online.

Shona Robison: The Clinical Change Governance Group within NHS 24 is responsible for reviewing published national clinical guidelines, and other government and health related documents and policies, in order to assess their impact on the organisation, including in the delivery of front-line clinical services.

  The Clinical Change Governance Group meets on a monthly basis to discuss clinical guidance published by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence and the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network. The group is made up of representatives from the medical, nursing and pharmacy teams within NHS 24 as well as staff responsible for education and training, the development and maintenance of nhs24.com, and the development and maintenance of all NHS 24 systems and processes that underpin the delivery of the service.

  In reviewing the latest clinical guidance on a regular basis, the Clinical Change Governance Group can identify where any changes are required within NHS 24 (including in the advice given over the telephone and online) and ensure that these changes are implemented and that consistency of information is maintained across the whole of the organisation.

Justice

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many crimes have been committed in the Lothians region by people released from prison under automatic early release in each of the last five years, broken down by type of crime.

Kenny MacAskill: This information is not held centrally. The police recorded crime data is based on an aggregate return, and so does not have details of individual crimes, such as whether the perpetrator has previously been in prison. Reconviction rates of people released from custody are not available by the terms under which they were released.

Justice

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been released from prison in Edinburgh under automatic early release in each of the last five years.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  Only information for 2006-07 is available and relates to prisoners released from custody by Sentence and Local Authority area (based on home address).

  In terms of automatic release the following principles apply:

  Under Four Years sentence:

  Automatic release after serving half sentence, and

  may be released earlier on Home Detention Curfew (HDC), subject to satisfying specific criteria.

  Four Years or over sentence (excluding life sentences):

  Automatic release after serving two-thirds sentence, and

  may be released on parole after serving half sentence, subject to Parole Board approval.

  Release is on licence until the expiry of the sentence.

  Prison Liberations by Sentence Length and Release to City of Edinburgh Local Authority Area in 2006-071

  

Local Authority
Sentence


Under 4 Years:
4 Years or over:


Automatic Release at Half Sentence
Automatic Release at Two-Thirds if not Granted Parole


City of Edinburgh
1,076
35



  Notes: 1. Includes only liberations into the community.

Justice

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many knives were handed in to police stations in the Lothians parliamentary region in each of the last five years, broken down by police division.

Kenny MacAskill: The information requested is not held centrally.

Licensing

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) arrests and (b) prosecutions of (i) shopkeepers and (ii) landlords there have been for sale of alcohol to minors in each of the last 12 months.

Frank Mulholland QC: The following table shows the number of charges under Section 68(1) and (7) of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976 that were reported in each month of 2007-08 where court proceedings were initiated. It is not possible to separately identify cases where the accused was a shopkeeper or a landlord.

  Information about persons arrested for offences under the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976 is not held centrally.

  Charges: Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976, Section 68(1) and (7)

  

Month Reported to COPFS
Charges where Court Proceedings were Initiated


April 2007
8


May 2007
22


June 2007
3


July 2007
7


August 2007
7


September 2007
1


October 2007
24


November 2007
17


December 2007
15


January 2008
65


February 2008
28


March 2008
38


2007-08
235



  Notes:

  1. The information in this table has been extracted from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service’s Case Management Database. The database is a live, operational database used to manage the processing of reports submitted to procurators fiscal by the police and other reporting agencies. If a Procurator Fiscal amends a charge submitted by a reporting agency the database will record details only of the amended charge.

  2. The database is charge-based. The figures quoted therefore relate to the number of charges rather than the number of individuals charged or the number of incidents that gave rise to such charges.

Museums

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, in the light of the publication of the minutes of the meeting of the Scottish Museums Council on 11 December 2007, whether it has any plans to provide the £3 million funding for Scotland’s three national industrial museums which the Scottish Museums Council has offered to administer.

Linda Fabiani: Ministers will take a decision on how much investment is required, and the timescale, once we have the full business and economic case for investment. Historic Scotland will advise us on what programme of work may be required at the Mining Museum and I understand that the Maritime Museum will submit its Business Plan soon.

  In the meantime, we have already given £60,000 to the Maritime Museum and £25,000 to the Mining Museum for urgent repairs and Historic Scotland are providing the Mining Museum with £45,000 for maintenance.

Police

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the current police establishment figures are as of 1 July 2008.

Kenny MacAskill: The operational deployment of resources is a matter for chief constables, and no information on planned establishment levels is held centrally.

  Figures on the number of police officers employed are collected on a whole-time equivalent basis for the Quarterly Strength Return. This is updated on a quarterly basis to reflect returns for 31 March, 30 June, 30 September and 31 December. Copies of the latest figures for 2007-08 are available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 43307).

Police

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many visits to Scotland by the Prime Minister requiring police attendance and resources there have there been in each year since 1997.

Kenny MacAskill: This information is not held centrally.

Public Services

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide details of any services it has transferred from the public to the private sector since May 2007.

John Swinney: No services have been transferred by the Scottish Government since May 2007.

School Meals

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children were (a) eligible for and (b) receiving free school meals on (i) 1 October 2006, (ii) 1 May 2007, (iii) 1 October 2007 and (iv) 1 May 2008, also broken down by age.

Adam Ingram: Statistics on free school meals registration and uptake are collected in February of each year, and are published on the government website at the following link. Information is not collected by age.

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/PubSchooMeals.

Teachers

Hugh O'Donnell (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many teachers have been removed from the General Teaching Council for Scotland register in each of the last five years.

Adam Ingram: The number of teachers removed from the General Teaching Council for Scotland register in each of the last five years is shown in the following table. This information was provided by the General Teaching Council for Scotland.

  

2004
6


2005
17


2006
6


2007
14


2008 to date
2

Teachers

Hugh O'Donnell (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many probationer teachers who completed their probationary year were subsequently not admitted to the full register of the General Teaching Council for Scotland in each of the last five years.

Adam Ingram: The General Teaching Council for Scotland have supplied the following figures relating to probationer teachers who completed their probationary year but did not achieve the standard for full registration by the end of that year.

  The figures distinguish between those whose registration was cancelled and those who went on to start an extension period to try to achieve the standard for full registration.

  

 
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05
2005-06
2006-07


Extensions
41
31
39
88
66


Cancellations
13
11
9
15
10

Teachers

Hugh O'Donnell (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many teachers who applied for teaching posts through the Fresh Talent initiative have been added to the General Teaching Council for Scotland register since the creation of the Fresh Talent scheme.

Adam Ingram: This information is not held centrally or by the General Teaching Council for Scotland.

Waste Management

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will target reductions in commercial waste.

Richard Lochhead: The government funds the Envirowise programme, which provides advice to business on how to reduce the amount of waste they produce http://www.envirowise.gov.uk/scotland . Other measures also help to reduce the amount of commercial waste sent to landfill including producer responsibility for certain materials, such as packaging, and the UK Government’s Landfill Tax. As part of the forthcoming review of the National Waste Plan, the Scottish Government will consider what further steps can be taken to reduce the amount of commercial waste that is produced and landfilled. We are also planning to consult shortly on possible legislation on waste management with the aim of increasing waste prevention and recycling.

Waste Management

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it is encouraging commercial properties to reduce, recycle and reuse their waste.

Richard Lochhead: The Government funds the Envirowise programme, which provides advice to business on how to reduce the amount of waste they produce http://www.envirowise.gov.uk/scotland , and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is also developing a business waste advisory service for the business it regulates. In addition, the government funds Waste Aware Business which provides information to business on recycling and includes a directory on recycling facilities for business. http://www.wasteawarebusiness.org.uk/ .

Waste Management

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide stricter penalties for commercial properties that fail to reduce, recycle and reuse their waste.

Richard Lochhead: The main financial penalty for commercial and other business that fail to reduce, reuse and recycle their waste is the landfill tax, which is the responsibility of the UK Government. We are planning to consult shortly on possible legislation on waste management with the aim of increasing waste prevention and recycling.

Waste Management

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive which local authority single outcome agreements identify year-on-year reductions in waste to landfill.

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what local authority single outcome agreements identify year-on-year reductions in waste.

Richard Lochhead: Single outcome agreements (SOAs) for 2008-09 have been agreed with all 32 councils and should all now be publicly available.

  As councils were responsible for producing the SOAs and are responsible for the delivery of local services, questions regarding the content of individual SOAs should be directed to them in the first instance.

  All SOAs should reflect priorities and agreed outcomes, including waste outcomes, for each council and include relevant supporting indicators and targets.